Trump threat to cut aid to Palestinians carries risks

Trump threat to cut aid to Palestinians carries risks

With a Twitter post threatening to cut off U.S. aid to the Palestinians, President Donald Trump has expressed his frustration over the lack of progress in his hoped-for Mideast peace push. But things could deteriorate even further if Trump follows through on the threat. Over two decades of on-and-off peace talks, the U.S., Israel and the Palestinians have created a situation of interdependence, with American mediation at the core of this system. A cutoff in aid would almost certainly harm the P…See all stories on this topic

France’s Macron sets course for rapid changes this year

French President Emmanuel Macron came out strongly Wednesday in support of press freedom and announced a bill to combat the spread of fake news during election campaigns. In a speech to journalists at the Elysee Palace in Paris that laid out his agenda for 2018, Macron said that press freedom is “the highest expression of freedom.” He said he’s going to propose soon a new law to combat fake news on the internet during French election campaigns. Websites would have to say who is financing them a…See all stories on this topic

The Latest: Iran’s Rouhani, Turkey’s Erdogan talk protests

The Latest on protests in Iran (all times local): 10:45 p.m. The leader of Lebanon’s Iranian-backed Hezbollah group says President Donald Trump’s “hopes” that the protests in Iran will snowball and lead to regime change or chaos will be dashed along with the hopes of the Israelis and Saudis. In his first comments since protests in Iran broke out, Hassan Nasrallah said protesters with legitimate grievances have been exploited by political factions who attached political slogans to their protests…See all stories on this topic

Union criticizes Ohio decision to close correctional unit

An Ohio prison unit housing about 430 inmates will be closed, the inmates moved elsewhere and employees offered jobs at other prisons, the state said Wednesday. Inmates will be transferred from Hocking Correctional Unit in southeastern Ohio by the end of March, according to the Department of Rehabilitation and Correction. The prison unit is Ohio’s most expensive, costing $65 a day per inmate to operate compared to $21 at similar facilities in Belmont, Richland and Trumbull counties, the state s…See all stories on this topic

Sherin Mathews, the 3-year-old girl adopted from India and found deceased in a ditch in Richardson last year, died of “homicidal violence,” the Dallas County Medical Examiner’s office confirmed on Wednesday. Richardson police issued a statement Wednesday afternoon saying the medical examiner’s office listed the child’s cause of death as homicide and the manner of death as homicidal violence, though they didn’t elaborate further. Sherin’s body was found Oct. 26, more than two weeks after Wesley …See all stories on this topic